


Count Me In

by MatchaVanilla



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Characters Playing Pokemon GO, Disneyland, I changed the rating because c'mon - this is totally rated G, M/M, Maybe hinting at Romance, Modern AU, Mostly Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-25
Updated: 2017-03-25
Packaged: 2018-10-10 13:25:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10438665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MatchaVanilla/pseuds/MatchaVanilla
Summary: On a Pokémon-hunting excursion to Disneyland, Roxas is separated from the rest of his group and starts feeling a little weird, playing Pokémon Go as an adult. A redhead runs into him – literally – and shakes up the blond’s perspective.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Guess who just started playing Pokemon Go? Haha
> 
> Based on artwork by Nijuukoo, on Tumblr! This is the art in question: http://nijuukoo.tumblr.com/post/148560040007/813-month-2016-day-5-pokemon-word-from
> 
> There are some more ideas for this story buzzing around in my head, but nothing too concrete... yet. Let me know what you guys think!
> 
> Song of the Day: Can't Stop the Feeling - Justin Timberlake

_It’s the happiest place on earth_ , he said.

 

 _We can play Pokémon Go_ , he said.

 

 _There will be Pokéstops and wild Pokémon everywhere_ , he said.

 

 _It’ll be a great way to celebrate the end of finals week_ , he said.

 

 _It will be fun_ , he said.

 

Roxas was mentally cursing his twin with increasing frequency and creativity as he trudged down Disneyland’s Main Street, alone, cellphone in hand. Sora had been right, as always… except that he, Riku and Kairi had completely disappeared once they’d gotten through the front gates. He’d just stopped to grab a map, for crying out loud, and suddenly they were gone!

 

_Probably chasing after a Pikachu or something…_

 

And the stupidest part? The stupidest part was that no one was responding to his texts – of which the blond sent several – because they were too busy playing Pokémon Go. So, for all intents and purposes, Roxas had been ditched.

 

 _Whatever_ , the blond thought to himself with a scowl, starting up his own Pokémon Go app while he consulted the park map, _it’s still Disneyland and I’m still going to have a good time. It’s better than writing another term paper._

 

The loading screen had been changed when the second-generation Pokémon were added into the game; it now depicted the baby Pokémon watching fireworks. Roxas couldn’t decide if he missed the Magikarp on the bridge, or if this was an improvement. Either way, the app always seemed to take forever to start up. It probably took its sweet time just to annoy him. Finally, his blond avatar flashed into existence, followed by a moment of lag, while the GPS synced up, and…

 

…Holy shit. Roxas’ frown faded immediately once he saw the sheer number of Pokémon in his general vicinity. He’d never even _seen_ most of these before. There were Pokéstops every five feet, it looked like, scattered all throughout the theme park. Most of them had active lures, too.

 

No wonder the others had run off and left him behind. Holy shit.

 

Fiddling with the straps on his backpack, Roxas considered his options, glancing up at his surroundings. It was a little crowded, but not overly so. It was Disneyland, after all. Still, thank goodness Sora had been a Disney fanatic, or Roxas would be completely overwhelmed and have _no idea_ where to begin.

 

Hanging a right at the end of Main Street would probably be the best course of action, the blond decided, as it would take him off to Fantasy Land and a huge, continuous line of Pokéstops. Then, he could swing by Tom Sawyer’s Island – oh wait, now it was Pirate’s Island, or whatever – and head into New Orleans Square. Yeah, that would work.

 

With that plan in place, Roxas folded the paper map and slipped it into his pocket, focusing on his cellphone as he moved with the crowds. Maybe he’d even catch a few rides while he was roaming around, looking for Pokémon. Why not? No matter what, he was going to have a good day.

 

There were a few Pokémon in his path down Main Street. Nothing earth-shattering, but he caught them anyway. Roxas knew that he’d need the candy eventually, even if just for the evolution EXP, and stardust was a precious commodity.

 

He felt like such a goddamn nerd, thinking about that stuff.

 

The feeling only intensified when Roxas saw Porygon show up in the list of Nearby Pokémon. He gasped. He _literally_ gasped… and then he quickened his pace. He was a mature college student. He had a job. He paid all his taxes. And he needed that Porygon. Very badly.

 

For science, or something. Totally.

 

His target was at the statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse, so it shouldn’t be that hard to find, Roxas figured. At the moment, he was level 20, which gave him a decent range, so long as the damn thing didn’t disappear. Nevertheless, Roxas hurried down the street, glancing between his path and his phone’s screen, praying that the coveted Pokémon would appear.

 

Finally, just in front of Walt and Mickey, it popped. Porygon swiveled gently on the screen, its little pixelated sprite floating idly across the map. Roxas stopped in his tracks and tapped it frantically, at least three or four times in a row, and felt a little thrill when the app responded, switching to the capture screen. _Yes!_

 

Just to increase his chances, the blond first threw a berry at his target, then switched from Pokéballs to Ultraballs; the Porygon was worth the extra items. Carefully, Roxas lined up his shot, waited for the target to stop gyrating, and…. Threw!

 

It hit. Roxas held his breath for the first shake, then the second, and finally the third. When the stars flashed, signaling a successful capture, he actually grinned, clenching his fist in a very muted version of a fist-pump. _Got it!_ That was extremely satisfying.

 

Before he moved on, Roxas tapped on his screen again, intending to check on his new Pokémon’s stats and have it appraised; it was a habit of his, leftover from his days of competitive egg breeding, he was ashamed to say. To think that numbers meant so much when attached to adorable little creatures that were forced to fight one another at their owner’s whim.

 

 _Decent enough CP_ , he thought to himself, scanning the Porygon’s stats, _but not too amazing. Decent moves, too. Now, how’s the -_

 

And then he was hit by a speeding red truck.

 

Or, at least, that’s what it felt like. Really, it was a flaming-haired, lanky-ass guy who couldn’t take his eyes off his own phone.

 

Roxas had been taken completely by surprise when the redhead ran right into him, knocked him over, then toppled over on top of him. Now the stranger was sprawled across his lap, looking just as stunned as the blond was, himself.

 

On top of that, had Roxas not been wearing a backpack he probably would have smacked his head against the brick walkway. He had been lucky; the pack cushioned his head upon impact.

 

“Shit, shit shit!” the redhead chanted once he realized what happened, trying to carefully lever himself up and off of Roxas, “I’m so sorry – are you okay?” Then, without waiting for an answer, he continued, “Dammit, I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going. Fuck, did I hurt you? Here.” With that, he managed to extract himself from Roxas’ lap and hold out a hand, offering to help the blond up before he’d even gotten to his own feet, “Sorry.”

 

Roxas glanced at the offered hand, but his eyes were drawn to the redhead’s face before he reached out to take it. Bright green eyes watched him with concern, accentuated by diamond-shaped… tattoos? Whatever they were, they really highlighted his angular and expressive facial features.

 

_Oh fuck me… he’s hot. And he caught me playing Pokémon Go._

 

“You okay?” The redhead asked again, brows knitting together with concern when his offer went apparently ignored, “You look kinda dazed. Shit – did you hit your head?!” With that, his hand surged forward, tugging Roxas upright, into a seated position. His other hand came forward as well, threading long fingers into soft blond hair, feeling at the back of Roxas’ skull for injuries.

 

Face heating up with embarrassment, the blond shook his head, trying to drag his thoughts into the present. “I’m fine,” Roxas managed to finally speak, “I’m fine. Sorry, I shouldn’t have been standing in the walkway. I was just….” His voice trailed off, but he glanced down at his phone, where Pokémon Go was still running and displaying his most recent catch.

 

The redhead blinked, his gaze following Roxas’ own. Then, his eyes lit up. “You caught the Porygon? Lucky! I missed it,” He sighed dramatically, looking exasperated, “For a damn three-hundred and twenty-two CP Pidgeotto, of all things. So stupid.”

 

Roxas just stared, floored. “You… play too?” He asked, a little hesitantly.

 

“Hell yeah,” the redhead grinned, “I’m Axel, of Team Valor.” He finally shifted, then got to his feet in one smooth motion, pulling Roxas up by the hand he’d still held – the blond hadn’t even noticed that – and tilted his head to one side, “And you?”

 

“Roxas,” the blond answered, letting go of Axel’s hand so that he could brush dust off his pants, “Team Instinct.”

 

Axel hummed, his eyes narrowing even as a playful smile tugged at his lips, “Instinct, huh? Hm…” He crossed his arms loosely over his chest and made a show of looking Roxas over critically, “Well, you’re _really_ cute. I suppose we can still be friends. Even if you _are_ on the wrong team.”

 

Once again, Roxas felt his face heating up with embarrassment. He really hoped he wasn’t blushing. “I could say the same to you,” He quipped, avoiding the _cute_ comment… before realizing that those words implied he thought Axel was cute too. Shit. It was too late to take it back without looking like a complete idiot.

 

Though, the redhead didn’t seem bothered by it. In fact, Axel’s eyes positively lit up and his smile became a grin. “Touché,” he acknowledged with a laugh, “You’re pretty forgiving, considering I practically bowled you over a minute ago.” He sobered a little with those words, running a hand through his spikey red hair, “Sorry about that again, by the way.”

 

“No worries,” the blond assured him automatically, trying to appear casual, “Nothing’s broken, so it’s all good.” He had to regain some of his composure, before he made a bigger idiot of himself.

 

_Pull yourself together, Roxas._

 

Axel’s smile returned. “Well, I was on my way to Tomorrow Land, before I bumped into you,” he mentioned casually, hooking both thumbs in the belt loops of his jeans after the play on words, “Would you, maybe, care to join me?”

 

The blond hesitated, but only for a moment. Sora had ditched him, after all, and hanging out with Axel would be better than walking around Disneyland on his own – though following the redhead would change his plans a little. That wasn’t too big a deal. Besides, Axel seemed like a decent enough guy, even if he had crashed right into him. _Why not?_

 

“Uh – sure,” Roxas agreed lightly, smiling up at Axel, “Yeah. Count me in.”

 

“ _Excellent_ ,” Axel enthused, grinning brightly down at his newfound traveling companion, “Just watch; by the end of the day, you and I will be running this joint.” Reaching out, he took hold of the blond’s hand, then started off toward the Astro Orbiter, which marked the entrance to Tomorrow Land, “C’mon, Roxas! We’ve got Pokémon to catch!”

 

Surprised by the casual familiarity, the blond simply let himself be pulled along for a moment. Axel was… _very_ self-assured. It was admirable, really, and, somehow, it put Roxas at ease.

 

Picking up the pace, so that he walked next to Axel instead of several steps behind him, the blond felt a smile cross his face. He had been right; today was going to be a good day.


End file.
